THE COPULATIVE PREDICATION

Let us start from the analysis of the following sentences:

1. (a)Mary is quiet.
(b) Jack is a doctor.
(c) Susan is of my age.
(d) She will make a good mother.
These sentences contain a copula (be in sentences a,b,c) or a copula-like verb (make in
sentence d) which functions as the link between the subject of the sentence and the constituent
which predicates about the subject. This element is called a predicative. The copula or the
copula-like verb and the predicative form a copulative predicate.
Lets have a look at the following examples:
2. (a) Granfather is a good man. (DP)
(b) My sister is very pretty. (AP)
(c) The hat is of my size. (PP)
(d) The problem is to do it correctly. (IP)
(e) The idea is that you should never agree to such things. (CP)
As we can see the predicative can be expressed by a wide range of phrases. Only the copula BE
allows the full range of predicatives, the other copula-like verbs allow only a limited number of
possibilities.
THE COPULA BE
If we look at the sentences under 1, we shall immediately see that it is the predicative not the
copula which assigns a property to the subject, namely Mary is assigned the property quiet,
Jack the property a doctor, aso, which means that the predication relation hold between the
subject and the predicative, and not between the subject and the copula. We can say that the
subject of the sentence is assigned a theta role and so is an argument of the predicative, not of
the copula BE. It can be demonstrated by the semantic relations that the predicative imposes on
the subject.
3. (a) *Bill is a spinster.
(b) *Mrs Brown is Marys father.
(c) *His brother is buxom.
The sentences above are ungrammatical as the property assigned by the predicatice to the
subject violates the s-selection. A Spinster and buxom select a [+female] entity, while father
selects a [+male] entity.
One conclusion would be that the copula does not assign an external theta role because it does
not have substantive content. This means that the copula does not have an external argument ; it
only has an internal argument, a small clause which account for the predication relation
between the subject ant the predicative. The subject is base-generated in [Spec,SC] position
where it is assigned a theta role, and from ther it moves to [Spec,IP] to be assigned case and also
to satisfy the EPP, which says that all senteneces must have a subject. This means that BE

cannot assign case, which is in keeping with the fact that it does not assign a theta role to an
external argument. So the copula BE behaves like an unaccusative verb.
Burzios generalization (i) a verb which lacks an external argument fails to assign Accusative
case
(ii)a verb which fails to assign Accusative case fails to theta-mark an
external
argument

Mary is quiet.
IP
Spec

I
I0

VP

-s

V0
BE

SC/AP
NP
N
N0
Mary

A
A0
quiet

The NP generated in the [Spec, SC] position will move to [Spec,IP] in order to be assigned case.
Another possible position would be [Spec, VP] which is empty because BU does not have an
external argument, so no theta role can be assigned in that position, but it is not a position in
which case can be assigned.
Conclusion
The copula Be is a raising verb taking a small clause as its complement, it lacks an
external argument, fails to assign case to its complement, does not assign a theta role.
Therfore it is an unaccusative verb which selects a small clause, the subject of the sclause
being generated in the [Spec, SC] position out of which it raises to be assigned case.
The copula BE is semantically light, which has been taken as a possible explanation for
the fact that it shares a number of properties with the auxiliaries.
It behaves like auxiliary verbs it undergoes movement to I0; it moves to C0 in question
formation; it is directly negated by not/nt, it can be stressed by emphatic affirmations, it
occurs in tags and codas

4. (a) Are they students?

(b) They are not/arent students.
(c) Oh, but they ARE students.
(d) They are students, arent they?
(e) They are students, and so are theor friends.
Like an auxiliary, the copula BE precedes the adverbs.
5. They are always rude to everyone.
He is never impertiment.
Unlike auxiliaries, which only allow one type of complement (VP), the copula allows a wide
variety of small clauses as complements (DP, AP, NP, PP, IP, CP).
The copula can co-occur with other auxiliaries, including auxiliary BE
6. You have always been so nice to me.
He is being clumsy now!
When the small clause contains two NPs, any of the two can raise ti [Spec,IP]
7. That unimportant incident was the cause of the war.
The cause of the war was that unimportant incident.
To conclude, we can say that the copula BE is an unaccusative verb that has a number of
specific properties which distinguish it from regular unaccusatives and from auxiliaries
as well.
The role of the copula
Small clauses are reduced clauses which lack the functional categories, mainlt Tense but which
denote predication relations, namely states of affairs which must receive temporal anchoring.
This is done by the verb the small clause is a complement of. The copula carries the markers for
Tense, Aspect, Agreement, Mood.
8. (a) Michael is careful. (Tense)
(b) Michael is being so awkward today! (Tense, Aspect)
(c ) He has always been so nice. (Tense,Aspect)
(d) If only he were more attentive. (Tense, Mood)

COPULA-LIKE VERBS

Fall, stand, make, sit, loom, remain, hold, run, get, lie, grow, go, turn, pass, seem, come,
etc
9. MAKE - If you work hard, you will make a good lawyer.(DP)
She will make a wonderful actress.(DP)
FALL The scheme fell flat.(AP)
He fell victim to her cruel remarks.(NP)

She fell an easy prey to him.(DP)

The house fell into ruins.(PP)
LIE The book lay open on the table.(AP)
The snow lay thick on the ground.(AP)
HOLD The argument holds true.(AP)
She always holds aloof from company.(AP)
STAND Tom stands alone amomg his mates.(AP)
We will stand firm.(AP)
Lady Jane stood godmother to her sisters child.(NP)
Those poor people stand in need of help.(PP)
SIT He sat tight on the saddle.(AP)
LOOM The castle loomed menacing in the distance. (AP)
REMAIN He remained a widower at the age of 30.(DP)
GET The sink got rusty.(AP)
GROW He has grown old.(AP)
TURN He finally turned a traitor. (DP)
They obliged the prisoners to turn Muslim. (AP)
PASS They pass for rich.(PP)
He passed for a doctor.(PP)
SEEM The students seem interested in linguistics. (AP)
COME The knot has come undone.(AP)
Copula-like verbs behave like the copula. They lack an external argument, their internal
complement is a small clause, so they are raising verbs like the copula.

The scheme fell flat.

IP
Spec

I
I0
T
-ed

VP
V
V0
Fall

SC/AP
DP

The scheme

A
A0

Flat

Nevertheless, there are a number of differences between the copula and the copula-like verbs.
They preserve part of their lexical meaning (durative stay, remain, inchoative
become, get)
They impose certain selectional restrictions on the small clause (see the examples above)
They do not combine with the full range of small clauses as BE
They do not raise, do not invert in question formation, need do-support, are not negated
by not/nt, need do-support, do not appear in tags and codas.
10. They turned Muslim.
*Turned they Muslim? (Did they turn Muslim?)
*They turned not Muslim. (They didnt turn Muslim)
*They turned Muslim, turnednt they?
They do not precede the adverbs (like lexical verbs)
11. *The river runs always dry in summer.
The river always runs dry in summer.
Unlike the copula BE, when the small clause contains two NPs, only the NP subject, that
is the one generated in [Spec, SC] position can raise to [Spec, IP].
12. My uncle remained a doctor all his life.
*A doctor remained my uncle all his life.
THE PREDICATIVE
THE ADJECTIVAL TYPE
Adjectives are heads that project structure according to X-bar, can be modified by an
adverb in the Spec position, can select a complement (PP , CP or IP), can also contain
adjuncts
13. (a)rather envious of Marys success
(b) glad that we were there
(c) very unvilling to come here
(d) rather discontent with me for my behaviour
They may have an exclusively attributive or a exclusively predicative use or both
14. Mary is beautiful.
I saw a beautiful woman.

ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES
They appear only in pre-nominal positions in English, unlike Romanian
15. an envious person / * a person envious
When used attributively, adjectives do not allow complements
16. * a very unwilling to come here person
* a rather discontent with me father
Nevertheles, there are a number of adjectives which appear post-nominally even when
used attributively - general, public, martial. laureate
17. secretary general, attorney general, notary public, court martial, poet laureate
There are adjectives which, under specific conditions, appear post-nominally even when
used attributively
18. The ships damaged by the strom were recovered yesterday.
Attributive adjectives have degrees of comparison, but only those which denote gradable
properties. They can be modified by degree words (quite, rather). Adjectives that denote
ungradable properties do not allow comparison or degree words.
19. (a) the most beautiful woman
(b) It isnt very hot.
(c ) *He is very alive.
When the occur in a string preceding the noun they are arranged on a very strict order
a) adjectives modifying object-denoting nominals
possessives>cardinal>quality>size>shape>color>nation
20. a beautiful red Persian carpet / * a Persian beautiful red carpet
b) adjectives modifying event nominals
possessives>cardinal>ordinal>speaker-oriented>subjectoriented>manner>thematic
21. his previous disgusting angry reaction to your demand
Their future possible friendly cooperation
Adjectives may denote temporary or permanent properties, and depending on that they
may appear in pre or post-modifying positions
22. the only navigable river (permanent property) / the responsible man (trustworthy)
The only river navigable (transient property) / the man responsible (to blame)
Exclusively modifying adjectives

1) denominal adjectives derived from nound denoting substances

Eg. Wooden, leaden, golden
23. a wooden bracelet / *The bracelet is wooden. (made of wood)
A leaden coffin. / *The coffin is leaden. (made of lead)
A golden ring / *The ring is golden. (made of gold)
If used in a figurative meaning, these adjectives may also be used predicatively
24. Her movements were wooden. (like wood)
The sky was leaden. (the colour of lead)
Her hair was golden. (the colour of gold)
2) adjectives which may have been derived from adverbs
Eg. Main, eventual, principal, utter, actual, favourite, former, mere, sole
25. The main purpose of his action has never been known. / *The purpose is main.
What we witnessed was an utter failure. /*The failure is utter.
Dont overestimate the actual importance of the act./ *The importance of the act is actual.
3) past participles which never occur in passive sentences (deprated, escaped)
26. The departed guests. /*The guests are departed.
The escaped prisoner /*The prisoner is escaped
4) modal adjectives alleged, potential, possibel
27. an alleged genius / *the genius was alleged
5)temporal adjectives future, former, late, occasional, present, daily, monthly
28. the future wedding / *the wedding is future
6) manner adjectives (related to adverbs) compulsive, big, frequent,
29. a compulsive eater / *the eater is compulsive
PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVES

They select internal arguments (like verbs) to which they assign theta roles. They
generally subcategorize for PP, but the preposition is idiosyncratic, that is it cannot be
predicted from the properties of the adjective. Some adjectives subcategorize for IP
(infinitives) or CPs.

30. capable of decision; conversant with the subject; lacking in intelligence; dependent on his
family; answearable to the Prime Minister
31. They were eager to succeed.
He is ready to leave.

She was happy that they had arrived.

I am afraid that they will not manage.
They behave like verbs in a number of ways, but do not inflect for Tense and Agreement.
They take a subjected hosted by [Spec,AP] and a complement to which they assign theta
roles.This type of phrase is assumed to be a small clause
32. He became very angry with his sisters for their attitude.

IP
Spec

I
I0

VP

-ed

V0
Become

SC/AP
DP
He

AP
AvP

Very

A
A0

Angry

PP
For their
Attitude
PP
with his
Sisters

Exclusively predicative adjectives

1)Adverb-like adjectives beginning with aEg. Ablaze, afire, agog, aghast, afraid, asleep, akin, ajar, akimbo, alive, alike, alone, afloat,
aware, awash, astir, askew, averse, ashamed
33. The whole building was ablaze. / *the ablaze building
He was asleep. /*the asleep man
The door was ajar. /*the ajar door
If the adjective is quantified it can be used as a modifying adjective.
34. a half-asleep student; a somewhat afraid student; a fully aware teacher

2) prepositional adjectives which can never appear as pre-nominal modifiers, which

nevertheless appear in a post-modifying position
35. Young people are fond of pop music.
Is your child subject to colds?
This woman is prone to superstition.
A child subject to so many colds should be carefully looked after.
Adjectives which appear in both positions
1) with distinct meanings
Eg. Heavy, hard, slow, frequent, traditionalist, occasional, possible, apparent
36. The march is slow. / A slow child
The luggage is heavy. / A heavy smoker
2) both predicative and modifying in one meaning and only modifying in the other meaning
Eg. Civil, criminal, dramatic, atomic, chemical
37. She gave me a very civil answer. /Her answer was civil.
He specializes in civil engineering / *The engineering is civil.
3) adjectives such as old, new, wrong when characterizing the refernt directly they are used
In both positions
Eg. True, complete, perfect,sure,clean,firm,sheer,total
38. old/new furniture / The furniture is old/new
A wrong answer / The answer is wrong
- when not characterizing the referent directly they are used
attributively
39. an old/new acquaintance
The wrong person (wrongly identified)
ATTRIBUTIVE AND EQUATIVE (IDENTIFYING) COPULATIVE PREDICATION
a) Attributive A is B
40. Mary is smart.
Bobby is a fresher.
The district is in a state of chaos.
The problem is that he sould leave.
b) Equative A=B
41. The girl is Johns friend.
He is Secretary of State.

This girls is the most attractive of all.

The Nominal Predicative
a) Attributive a shame, a pity, no wonder, no doubt
Its a pity that he should have left.
- NPs without a determiner
He is master of the situation.
The woman was poor class. (of the poor class)
-

very rarely definite NPs

White hats are the thing today.

THE INTRANSITIVE PREDICATION

(ONE-ARGUMENT VERBS)
Traditionally, one-argument verbs minimally contain one NP, which generally appears in the
subject position, but the main problem seems to be related to the position of that argument in
the argument frame of the verb, so the problem is whether it is the external or the internal
argument. The position of the argument has important consequences for the syntactic behaviour
of the verb.
One-argument verbs fall into two categories: a)unergatives and b)unaccusatives.
Eg. A) He may protest.
He overdosed.
He complained.
The children are swimming.
They were coughing because of the smoke.
B) There arose an unfortunate misunderstanding.
There came a cry of anguish from inside the house.
There appeared a ghostly face at the window.
In front of the house there stands a statue of the general.
There have arisen several problems.
A) Unergatives
Describe mainly volitional acts
The subject has control over the action, it is the initiator of the event, it is an Agent
The NP appearing with an unergative verb is its external argument
Is is not possible to have an postverbal imperative subject with unergatives
Eg. *Eat you up!
The past participles of unergative verbs cannot be used as adjectives in a post-head
position
Eg. *The man talked to was a neighbour of mine.

 The past participles of unergatives cannot be used as an adjective in a pre-head position

Eg, * The yawned student eventually fell asleep in class.
Unergatives evince the feature of atelicity, in other words they do not presuppose an end
point
Eg. The boys cried with laughter.
Unergatives allow a so-called cognate object, an object which copies the semantic
features of the verb and which occupies the canonical position of the direct object,
namely after the governing verb.
Eg. They slept the sleep of the just.
They died a heroic death.
She dreamt a nice dream.
B) Unaccusatives
The subject of unaccusatives undergoes a change of location or state and has no control
over the action
The subject is not an Agent, it is generally assigned the theta-role Patient or Theme
The unique argument of an unaccusative verb is the internal argument
In Belfast English it is possible to have a postverbal imperative subject
Eg. Leave you now!
Arrive you before 6!
Be going you out of the door when he arrives!
The past participles of unaccusatives can be used as aadjectives in a post-head position
Eg, The train arrived at platform 5 is the London Express.
They arrested a businessman recently returned from Thailand.
The past participles of unaccusatives can be used as adjectives in a pre-head position
Eg. He is some kind of a fallen hero.
Unaccusatives evince the feature of telicity, namely they presuppose an end point.
Eg. The car had vanished from sight.
They do not allow a direct object
Eg. *The prices decreased cheese.

UNERGATIVE VERBS
a) predicates describing willed or volitional acts: work, play, speak, talk, smile,
grin, frown, grimace, think, mediate, cogitate, daydream, skate, ski, swim, hunt,
bicycle, walk, skip, jog, quarrel, fight, wrestle, box, agree, disagree, knock, bang,
hammer, pray, weep, cry, kneel, bow, laugh, dance, crawl.

b) verbs denoting manners of speaking: whisper, shout, mumble, grumble, growl, bellow,
etc
c) predicates describing sounds made by animals: bark, neigh, quack, roar, chirp, oink,
mew, etc
d) verbs denoting involuntary bodily processes: cough, sneeze, hiccough, belch, burp,
defecate, urinate, sleep, cry, weep, etc

Eg. They quarreled quite often.

We sneezed a lot with hay fever.
They ski in the Alps every year.
She was weeping with joy at the ceremony.

UNACCUSATIVE VERBS
A) burn, fall, drop, sink, float, slide, slip, glide, soar, flow, ooze, seep, trickle, drip, gush,
hang, dangle, sway, wave, tremble, shake, languish, flourish, thrive, drown, stumble, trip,
roll, succomb, dry, boil, seethe, lie(involuntarily), sit(involuntarily), bend(involuntarily),
B) inchoatives (verbs showing a process resulting in a change of state) : melt, freeze,
evaporate, redden, darken, yellow, rot, decompose, germinate, sprout, bud, wilt, wither,
increase, decrease, blush, explode, die, perish, choke, suffocate, scatter, disperse, vanish,
disappear
C) verbs of existing and happening: exist, occur, happen, result, take place
D) aspectual predicates: begin, start, stop, cease, continue, end, etc
E) duratives: last, remain, stay, survive, etc
F) verbs denoting a non-voluntary emission of stimuli that has an impact on the senses:
shine, sparkle, glitter, glow, jingle, clink, clang, snap, crackle, pop, smell, stink, etc
G) verbs of existence: blaze, bubble, cling, coexist, correspond, decay, depend, drift, dwell,
elapse, emanate, exist, fester, float, flow, fly, grow, hide, hover, live, loom, lurk, overspread,
persist, predominate, prevail, project, protrude, revolve, reside, rise, shelter, settle,
smoulder, spread, stream, survive, sweep, swing, tower, wind
H) verbs of appearance: accumulate, appear, arise, awake, awaken, break, burst, dawn, derive,
develop, emerge, ensure, evolve, exude, flow, follow, gush, happen, issue, materialize, occur,
plop, spill, steal, stem, supervene, surge

Remark: the basic meaning of the verbs in the last two categories may not be that of
existence or appearance, but, when used in the there-insertion construction, they will
show this sense.

Different D-structures

Unergatives : NP [VP V]

Unaccusatives: _ [VP V NP]

Unergatives

Unaccusatives

VP

NP

VP

V0

V0

NP

This D-structure is in accordance with the case-assigning properties of the two classes of
verbs. Following Burzios generalization, a verb which lacks an external argument, that
is does not assign an external theta role also fails to assign Accusative case.Therefore,
the internal argument of unaccusatives has to move out of the VP internal position in
order to be assigned case. On the contrary, unergatives, which have an external
argument, can assign Accusative case under specific conditions.

Eg. He dreamt a nice dream.

TESTS FOR UNERGATIVITY/UNACCUSATIVITY

A. There-insertion
Only unaccusatives (with the exception of verbs of change of state) and passive verbs can occur
in the there-insertion construction, unergatives are not allowed in this construction.
Eg. A problem developed. /There developed a problem.
A ship appeared in the horizon. / There appeared a ship in the horizon.
A woman lodged at Mrs Browns. / *There lodged a woman at Mrs Browns
Oiled soared in price. / *There soared in price.
Eg, (passive predicates) There was found in this cave an ancient treasure.
There was glued a poster on this wall.
Eg. (unergatives) *There sneezed a man.
*There broke out a fire.
*There spoke a man in a loud voice.

Eg. (change of state) *On the line there are drying a lot of clothes.
*There melted a lot of snow on the streets of the city.

1.The there-insertion construction which diagnoses unaccusativity

There V NP PP
Eg. There remained three men in the room.
There followed a wave of indignation in the newspapers.
Throughout the 19th century there stood an ugly statue of the last king on the palace lawn.
There dangles a magnificent chandelier from the ceiling.
This construction simply postulates the existence of some entity and it may contain no locative
information. The existential there used in this construction is just a presentative construction,
which does not necessarily locate in space. There is devoid of meaning, it is an expletive
element. The internal argument of the verb must be [-agentive], it cannot have any control over
the action denoted by the verb. Such sentences usually express coming into being. (There began
a riot. / *There ended a riot). Not all unaccusatives allow the there-insertion construction. It is
mainly verbs of existence(the state resulting from the appearance of some entity) and verbs of
appearance (come into existence), which share the idea of existence. They also require a location
argument, be it overt or implicit, which means that these verbs have two internal arguments
one describing the entity that exist (Theme) and the other one describing the location at which
the entity exists (the location argument).Such verbs lack a causative variant.
Eg. *He appeared a cat at the door.
*They remained three men in the room.
There occupies the subject position, [Spec, IP] so the internal argument of the unaccusative
verb can remain in situ, inheriting case from there, with which it forms a chain <there i, NPi>. It
inverts with the auxiliary in question formation (Were there many children in the yard?)
There are unaccusatives derived from basically two argument-verbs causative predicates
which become intransitive and do not allow the there-insertion construction.The
causative component of the predicate disallows the there-insertion construction.
Eg. The glass broke./ He broke the glass
*There broke the glass.
The structure of There-sentences
1. The Small clause analysis
Existential BE interpreted as an unaccusative verb, a raising verb, just like the copula
There is a student in the room.
IP

I
I0

VP

T
-s

V
V0
BE

SC
A student in the room

Because of the Case Filter and the EPP, either the subject of the SC moves to [Spec,IP] or the
expletive there is inserted.
2. The VP adjunct analysis
The PP is an adjunct adjoined to V and there is assumed to be present at D-structure.
IP
There

I
I0

VP

-s

PP
In the room

V0

DP

BE

a student

3. The VP Shell analysis

Starting from the analysis of exemples such as The light blinded him. or His attitude saddened
me., in which it obvious that a second causative predicate is involed, this predicate being in fact
an affixal verb, overt (-en) or non-overt () it is assumed that the VP shell comprises two
different projections: (a) an outer p shell headed by a light verb and (b) an inner VP shell
headed by the lexical verb. The light verb is an abstract, affixal verb which introduces the idea
of agentivity for unergative and transitive verbs and the idea of eventivity for unaccusative
verbs. Adjectives and verbs attach to this affix. The assumption is that the subject of unergatives
and transitives originates in [Spec, p], namely the spec position of the light verb, as the subject
of the agentive light verb, while the subject of unaccusatives originates in the [Spec, VP], namely
in the specifier position of the lexical verb.The lexical verb raises from V 0 to 0 to merge with
this feature.
Eg. A cry of anguish came from inside the house.
There came a cry of anguish from inside the house.

IP

IP

I0

I0

p
there

VP

DP
A cry of
Anguish

0
V

V0
Came

VP

DP
a cry of
anguish
PP
from
Inside the
House

V0
came

V
PP
from
inside the
house

2. The second type of there-insertion construction

There V PP NP
This construction need not be related to unaccusatives. There is a long list of verbs that can
occur in this construction. There in this construction carries a clear locative meaning.
Eg. A little boy darted into the room. / There darted into the room a little boy.
Verbs that can occur in this construction: amble, climb, crawl, creep, dance, dart, flee, float, fly,
gallop, head, hobble, hop, hurtle, jump, leap, march, plod, prance, ride, roam, roll, run, rush,
sail, shuffle, skip, speed, stagger, stray, stride, strut, swim, trot, trudge, walk.

3.Definiteness
Definite NPs, proper names and pronouns cannot normally be used as subjects of the
there-insertion constructions.
Eg. *There is every student of mine in the room.
*There is John in the garden.
* There was him waiting for Mary.
Indefinites are allowed as subjects in there-insertion constructions, while the
postverbal NP had to denote a discourse referent that is new to the hearer.
Eg. There were flies in the room.
There remained a boy in the room.
Nevertheless, there may be other situations when not only indefinites are allowed as subjects of
a there-insertion construction:

 Partitives (headed by indefinite determiners)

Eg. There remained many of the same students at both seminars.
Definite NPs - they are allowed as subjects of the there-insertion construction if and
only iff they denote discourse referent that is new to the hearer.
Eg. There was the mother of a student in the office.
There was the smell of liquor on his breath.
Definite NPs which denote kinds
Eg. There were those kinds of books at the library.
There was every flavour of ice for tasting.
There was that kind of book listed in the catalog. (The underlined NP does not
necessarily refer to a unique object, it refers to a kind of objects, so it cannot be replaced
by the pronoun it as an anaphoric expression - *However, it was checked out).
Definite NPs if the noun is modified by an AP, a PP or a clause:
Eg, There werent the doctors to staff the clinic.
There is her future to consider.
There has arisen the important problem of their social status.
Definite NPs in an enumeration/list
Eg. Q: What else is there in that drawer?
A: Theres the rubber, the red pencil, and the writing paper.
Q: Who can we ask?
A: Theres Ann, or Mike, or Pete.
Remark: such definite NPs are allowed only it the truth of their existential assertion is
presupposed.

4. The Predicate Restriction

There-insertion is allowed only with stage-level predicates, namely predicates which
refer to unique, individual events. There-insertion is not compatible with generic
interpretations.

Eg. There was a man sick. / *There was a man tall.

There are three pigs loose. / *There are three pigs stupid.
The set of sentences on the left refer to two unique, individual events one person who was sick
at some point in time or three pigs who are loose at some point in time, whereas the set of
sentences on the right have generic interpretations, referring to the inherent qualities of the
subjects (being tall or being stupid).

Conclusion
There has no meaning of its own

 It is a semantically empty element, required for structural reasons it fills the subject
position
Its presence in the sentence is dependent of the presence of its associate, the postverbal
NP, which must be indefinite
B. Intransitives and Locative Inversion
It is a non-canonical construction in which the the surface subject stays inside the VP and the
sentence initial position is occupied by a locative PP.It is a construction in which only
unaccusatives can appear, unergatives and transitives are ungrammatical. The most frequently
used verbs are underived unaccusatives, namely verbs of appearance and verbs of existence as
well as verbs denoting position in space. Derived unaccusatives denoting a definite change of
state cannot be used in this configuration
(locative) PP V NP
Eg. 1. On our left was the Mediterranean.
2. On the table sat a nervous cat.
3. Out of nowhere appeared a mysterious figure.
Eg. *In the dining-room drank John a glass of wine.
* In the hall talked many people.
*On the top floor opened many windows.
Nevertheless, some unergatives can also be used in this configuration, namely verbs of manner
of motion and verbs of emission.
Eg. Around them chattered and sang many girls.
Up the stairs bounded the President
C. The Resultative Construction
A resultative phrase is a phrase that denotes the state achieved by the NP argument of the verb
as a result of the action denoted by the verb. Such a phrase can be predicated only of the
immediately postverbal NP, namely the internal argument of the verb. In other words, only
those verbs that have an internal argument are compatible with Resultative phrases.
Eg. The river froze [solid].
The door slid [open].
John laughed [himself sick].
The horse galloped [himself lame].
Unergatives and resultative phrases

Unergatives have no internal argument, so theoretically they should not allow

resultative constructions.
Eg. *John laughed sick.
*She shouted hoarse.

 In order to allow a resultative phrase, a fake reflexive object is added.

Eg, John laughed himself sick.
She shouted herself hoarse.
It is also possible to have a resultative phrase with an unergative in case the post verbal
NP is not the argument of the unergative.
Eg. The dog barked him awake.
You may sleep the baby quiet again.
Obviously, the postverbal NP is not the argument of the unergative, as the sentences
below show it. This NP is not subcategorized for by the verb.
*The dog barked him.
*You may sleep the baby.
In case the possessor and the subject of the verb are co-referential.
Eg. Mike cried [his eyes out].
Mary had better sleep [her wrinkles away].
Such sentences are incorrect if the resultative phrase is left out.
*Mike cries his eyes.
*Mary had better sleep her wrinkles.

Unaccusatives and resultative phrases

Unaccusatives have only an internal argument in their argument structure, so they
cannot take any surface object. The resultative phrase can only refer to the internal
argument of the unaccusative verb, which, at the level of the surface structure, appears
in the subject position.
Only derived telic unaccusatives are the ones that allow a resultative construction
Verbs belonging to the arrive class, which are telic, but underived (they do not have a
transitive causative counterpart) do not allow this construction (advance, arrive, ascend,
come,depart, descend, enter, escape,exit,fall, flee,go,leave,plunge,return, rise, etc)
Eg, The prisoners froze [to death]
The bottle broke [open].
The gate swung [shut].
The curtain rolled [open on the court of the queen].
Eg. *She arrived tired.
*The convict escaped exhausted.
*She fell broken to pieces.
Unaccusatives do not occur in sentences with Resultatives phrases predicated of nonargumental NPs, unlike unergatives that appear in such constructions.
Eg. *The log rolled [its bark off]. / The log rolled off.
*The cart rolled [the rubber off its wheels].
The two NPs which appear in a postverbal position are not arguments of the unaccusative verbs,
they are not subcategorized for by the verb, so they cannot enter a resultative phrase.

 Unaccusatives can appear with resultative phrases without the mediation of a fake
reflexive
Eg. * The water froze itself solid.
D. Intransitives and Past Participles
Generally speaking, the past participle of an unaccusative can be used as a noun modifier, both
pre and post-nominally, while the past participle of unergatives cannot.
Eg. A fallen leaf; vanished civilizations
*walked man, *slept children, *a worked man
Nevertheless, not all unaccusatives appear in a pre or post-nominal modifying position.
Eg. *A man lived in Paris, *an existed solution (atelic verbs)
The past participle of unaccusative describing atelic situations is incompatible with this position.
Telic unaccusatives are compatible with this construction.
Atelic unaccusatives verbs of appearance, verbs of disappearance, verbs of inherently
directed motion, verbs denoting an internally caused change of state.
Telic unaccusatives fall into two categories: firstly (a) verbs depicting a change of state which
can be interpreted as a property (eg. Fallen leaves, blistered feet) and which are freely used as
noun modifiers, and secondly(b) verbs depicting a change of location or of place (?a fallen child)
which are less felicitous as noun modifiers.

Phrasal intransitives
They are lexically complex verbs, made up of a verb and an Adverbial Particle. They evince a
high degree of idiomaticity. The transition from V AdvP to V Prt is made by a subgroup of
verbs that combine freely with a number of particles, mostly directional ones.
Eg. Puff across move across sending out smoke and/or panting noisily
Zoom across/along/away move across, etc swiftly with engine roaring
Eg. The rain came down.
It is an unaccusative phrasal verb, and if we resort to the VP-shell analysis, the d-structure
representation of the sentence is the following.
IP
I
I0

VP

DP

The rain

V0
Came

Prt
down

The Particles with the strongest meaning are the locative or directional ones. They preserve a
high degree of independence which is confirmed by their possible Preposing for emphasis
purposes.
Eg. The balloon went up. / Up went the balloon.
IP
I
I0

VP

DP
The balloon

V
V0
Go

Prt
up

With unaccusative verbs the [Spec, p] position is a non-thematic position, so the particle can
move to that position and later on to [Spec,IP] which is also a non-thematic position with such
verbs.

Aspectual particles refer to the temporal dimension of the event. They may render a variety of
meanings:
a) the incipient character of the event out, in, off
eg. They set out to win support for their cause.
A hostile reaction has set in.
The cars set off in a cloud of dust.
b) the durative aspect on, away (they indicate the continuation of the event)
Most verbs combine freely with on.
Eg. Speak / work / walk on
Away is more limited contextually.

Eg. He was working away.

She was laughing / muttering/ grumbling away.

c) the terminative aspect out, away, through, off, up
Eg. This custom has died out.

He passed away quietly at midnight.

We must clean up after the party.
Theres planty for every one. So, eat up!
The particle up may be used to indicate intensification of the action.
Eg. The runners are warming up before the race.
Cheer up!
The contribution of the particle to the global meaning of the verb may be null, in other words a
new meaning is created as a result of the combination. The meaning of the phrasal verb no
longer is a sum total of the meanings of the two components, namely the verb and the particle,
but a totally new meaning is now associated with the resulting phrasal verb.
Eg. Come round (regain consciousness)
Do up (be fastened)
Give in (yield)
Get along (manage)
Get by (survive)
Turn up (appear)

The Syntactic behaviour

a) insertion of adverbial modifiers such as right and straight with contexts where the particle has
a locative or directional meaning.
Eg. The prices came right down when people started buying elsewhere.
b) optionality of the particle where the particle reinforces the basic meaning of the verb
Eg, climb (up); fly (up); go (away)
c) nominalizations the Verb Particle complex turn into a noun
Eg. Break-in; make-up; sit-in; take-off; flypast; splashdown
These nominalizations occur in two possible sentence patterns:
1) with a general activity verb (do, stage, make, take, have) followed by the nominalized form
functioning as direct object
Eg. The actor is doing his make-up for the part of Othello.
A gang of thieves did a break-in last night.
The runners are having a quick warm-up before the race.
Building workers staged a walk-out.
2) an existential BE sentence, where the nominalized form appears in a postverbal position,
while the position of the subject is filled by the expletive THERE.
Eg. There was a break-in last night.
There was a walk-out during the morning.
d) preposing stylistic device which applies for emphatic purposes. It applies where the particle
does not form a unit with the verb. It means that the subject remains in post verbal position,
while the particle moves before the verb. If the subject is an NP it can sometimes move in [Spec,
vp]. If the subject is a pronoun, it always moves in [Spec, vp].
Eg. Down came the prices.
Off came the actors fake beard.
Down the snow came.
In the sun went.
Down they came.
Down the snow came.

IP
I
I0

VP
DP
The snow

V0
Come

Prt
down

Inherent reflexives
There are a number of verbs which are inherently reflexives. The reflexive is specified as an
inherent feature by the Lexicon. Some of these verbs can subcategorize for a prepositional
object.
Eg. Absent oneself; bestir oneself; perjure oneself
Avail oneself of something; pride oneself on something
Complex intransitives
Complex intransitives are two-argument verbs, which have an external argument and an
internal argument which is not a direct object, but it generally is a prepositional object or and
adverbial modifier.
1.Prepositional intransitives

Prepositional intransitives are not a homogeneous class, due to various factors such as:
a)
b)
c)
d)

the meaning contribution of the preposition

some
are not passivizable, as different from the greatest number of prepositional intransitives
the degree of idiomaticity

Examples:
1. A gang of thieves broke into her house last night.
He glanced through the article quickly.
In the examples above, the preposition retains part of its meaning.
2. Adverbs of time or manner (carefully, easily, frequently) can be inserted between the verb and
the prepositional phrase.
We will go very carefully into these proposals.
If the combination is idiomatic, it is no longer possible.
She gets at her husband frequently. / *She gets frequently at her husband.

3. Passivization it is possible for some, but impossible for some others.

The main points were run through briefly.
If the prepositional object is part of an idiomatic phrase, passivization is blocked.
He has fallen into disrepute recently. / *Disrepute had been fallen into recently.
Passivization of the prepositional object is possible for unergatives, and unacceptable for
unaccusatives.
Intransitives with Particle and Preposition
This class includes verbs that subcategorize for a fixed particle and a fixed preposition followed
by its object.
Eg. They had done away with that piece of legislation.
The family came up against fresh problems.
Look forward to; put up with, scrape along on (a low salary)
Some collocation allow deletion of the prepositional object:
Eg. The boat went aground (on the shore)
In between the particle and the preposition an adverb of manner may be inserted:
Eg. They had done away reluctantly with that piece of legislation.
If the preposition is not deletable, passivization can apply:
Eg. Those interruptions were not put up with cheerfully.
Intransitives with a Prepositional Indirect Object
Eventive verbs, experiencer verbs and relational verbs subcategorize foe an indirect object
headed by the preposition to.
Eventive happen, befall the Dative NP expresses the experiencer or victim of the event
Eg. Whats happened to the old man?
A great misfortune has befallen the old man (the deletion of the preposition to is
obligatory)
Experiencer seem, appear, occur, sound, taste
Eg. How does it seem to you?
It has never occurred to her to ask herself that question.
The cake tastes funny to me.

Relational
a) general relational verbs indicating possession belong, possess
Eg. It belongs to me.
b) relations of inferiority bow to smb, cringe to/before smb, defer to smd/smth, submit to
smd,
yield to smth
Eg. The girl bowed to the audience.
I shall always defer to my taste / to his experience.
As the prepositional object is generally an experiencer, it not possible to passivize any of the
verbs in these categories.

Intransitives with two Prepositional Objects

a) V to about/upon/for
Eg. He lectures to undergraduates on the Elizabethan theatre.
You should appologize to Mary for your bahaviour.
Most of them allow passivization, and even have two passive counterparts.
Eg. We will have to speak to the tutor about the matter.
The tutor will have to be spoken to about the matter.
The matter will have to be spoken about.
b) argue, discuss, quarrel with [+human] about smth
Eg, He was arguing with his wife about the matter. (NO passive)
Intransitives with Adverbial modifiers
a) with locative and directional AdvP
- lie, be, remain, sit, stand locative phrase
Eg. A book is on the table. / There is a book on the table.
Romania lies in Europe.
- directional phrase and Adverbial phrase denoting the departure point, the destination point,
the path or the itinerary
Eg.I have been to Brasov. (destination)
Eg. Go (away, fro,, to, towards, off)
Arrive (at, in)
Come (to, from)
Travel (from, to, through)
Swim (across)
Run (along)
NO passive
b) with adverbial phrases of time
- last The show lasted (for) two hours.
NO passive
c) with manner adverbials
- act, behave eg. He acted well.
He has always behaved decently.
NO passive
Intransitives with Quantifying Adverbs
- cost, weigh, owe

(NO Passive)

Eg. The dress cost $100.

The apples weigh one pound.
- a dative pattern eg. I owe him $200.
The new car cost him $ 2000.
Reciprocal intransitives
Eg. The train and the bus collided.
The train collided with the bus.
TO add, attach, correspond, join, relate
WITH agree, associate, combine, collide, confer, connect, coincide, disagree, overlap
FROM differ, distinguish, part, separate
(NO Passive)